Every year applications of liquid crystal display devices are broadening for power-saving and space-saving image display devices. Heretofore, one serious defect of liquid crystal display devices is that the viewing angle dependence of images is large, but recently, VA-mode, broad viewing angle liquid crystal display devices have been put into practical use, by which the demand for liquid crystal display devices is rapidly increasing also in the market that requires high-quality images as in TVs.
VA-mode liquid crystal display devices have an advantage in that, as compared with other liquid crystal display modes, the contrast is generally high, but on the other hand, they have a problem in that the viewing angle-dependent contrast and color tone change is great. As a method for compensating it, various optical compensatory films have been proposed. In particular, a method of using two stretched cellulose acylates for an optical compensatory film, as in JP-A-2003-170492, is preferred in that the optical compensatory film may serve also as a protective film of a polarizer and that the liquid crystal display devices comprising the optical compensatory film may be thinned.
However, with the recent tendency more promoted in the art toward large-panel display devices mainly for large-size TVs, more definite display capabilities are being required. In the above-mentioned method, the compensation for viewing angle-dependent color tone change is insufficient, and further improvements thereon are desired.